


Bath Time

by tmariea (OccasionalArtist)



Category: Tales of Zestiria
Genre: Bathing/Washing, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, No Plot/Plotless, One Shot, Sorey's a sap, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, but after writing this I guarantee you I am worse, taking care of each other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-01
Updated: 2016-10-01
Packaged: 2018-08-18 20:43:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8175430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OccasionalArtist/pseuds/tmariea
Summary: Baths with Mikleo had always been the best.  Even if it did give the others ammunition for teasing.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Oh hey look at what I'm doing rather than working on all of my other projects - random one-shots.

It was nearly dark by the time their party arrived at the small village, much to everyone’s relief.  It had been a long, hard, dirty week of traveling, and no one fancied spending another night in the open.  The seraphs, being lucky enough to travel or sleep inside Sorey at their leisure, escaped the worst of it.  Sorey and Rose, on the other hand, were definitely showing the effects of fighting hellions and sleeping in the dirt for several days without a proper chance to wash.  They were probably wearing several miles of road dust apiece.

Needless to say, the first order of business upon finding the town’s inn was to ask how they could go about getting a bath.

“We don’t have a bathhouse here,” the innkeeper, a tall and slightly gaunt man, told them, “but we can have tubs and water brought to your room.”

Sorey thought that Rose looked like she was going to cry from relief.  She had been on the wrong end of a rather gross hellion slime attack two days ago, and the gunk had dried into her hair.  Not even Mikleo’s water artes had been able to do much about it in absence of soap.  “That sounds amazing,” she said, perhaps a bit more fervently than was normal.  “We’ll take two rooms and a tub for each.  Oh, and we’ll have dinner after, too.”

And that would have been the end of it, if Sorey hadn’t spoken up from beside her, “Do you have any tubs big enough to fit two people?”

The innkeeper looked perplexed for a moment.  The math of two people needing three people’s worth of tub space obviously didn’t click for him.  Sorey chalked it up as just one more hazard of traveling with the seraphim.  But the man did answer, “It might be a squeeze, but I think we have something that could work.”

“Great.  I’ll take one of those for my room.”

The innkeeper was still looking at him strangely, but he bustled off to make preparations anyway.  Stories of the Shepherd had made it even this far out, and it really would be best for business to do as he asked, no matter how odd.

Sorey leaned back against the front desk and sighed, already imagining dumping himself and all of his travel grime into some hot water.  When he focused back on the rest of the group, everyone was staring at him, also with odd looks, but ones that looked slightly different from the innkeeper’s.  Except for Mikleo, who didn’t seem too interested in the proceedings.  “What?”

“Well, I know it wouldn’t ever occur to you to pull something funny on me or any of the other girls, so what’s going on?”  Rose asked.

“Yeah, care to enlighten us as to why you need a bathtub that would fit two people?”  Edna added dryly.

“Oh, well, Mikleo and I always bathe together.  Baths with Mikleo are the best,” Sorey replied, oblivious to the fact that next to him, Mikleo started to get flustered and at the same time attempted to shrink back from the group to avoid notice.

Lailah muttered a little, “Oh my!” and hid her mouth behind her hands, and Zaveid gave Sorey a thumbs up.

“Is something the matter?  I mean, we’ve bathed together since forever, and I never feel like I get clean enough if it’s not with Mikleo.”

“No, nothing’s the matter.” Which was not the case, given the fact that Rose was fighting off a fit of giggles.

“I don’t think that’s the kind of thing where you come out cleaner than you started,” Zaveid mentioned with an off-color grin.  Edna whacked him with her umbrella in response.

“It’s because of my artes!” Mikleo tried to insist, but no one paid him any notice.

“You know, you two should probably just go wash,” Lailah cut in, tilting her head toward the innkeeper, who was returning with a set of keys. 

Sorey took his key gratefully, and headed off down the hall, away from his confusing companions.  He glanced over his shoulders to see Mikleo sigh, cheeks red, and then follow the two humans.  The others elected to stay in the front room.  Just as he had unlocked the door and was about to open it, Rose told them, “Enjoy your bath time!” gave a mock salute, and disappeared into her own room.

Sorey made a frustrated noise and pushed open his own door.  “What was all of that about?  I mean, we’ve been in bathhouses together before,” he mumbled as he made his way inside and started plucking at the clasps on his Shepherd’s cloak.  Then he turned to face Mikleo at the sound of the door closing behind him.  “And are you blushing?”

“See, the thing about bathhouses is that they’re public.  So, since this is different they’re teasing,” Mikleo said, crossing his arms and looking annoyed.  “It’s childish.”

“Ah, but you know they only do it because you’re easy to tease.  It’s in good fun.”

“I was under the impression that they were teasing _you_.  Anyway, are you going to get in before the water gets cold?”

“I know you’ll keep it warm,” Sorey said, and gave a wide smile.  With Mikleo, he never had to worry about things like that.  But he did hang the Shepherd’s cloak on a hook by the door and pulled off his shirts; those were dumped on the bed with a lot less reverence.  “Do you need help with your belts?”

“I’ve got them.”

“Aw, but I like to help,” Sorey pouted, and Mikleo gave in with a sigh.

“Fine, but _no_ tickling.”  He got started on the left-hand belts while Sorey worked on the right side.

“You’re so beautiful,” he breathed once Mikleo’s tunic had joined the clothing pile on the bed.  The light from the room’s candles flickered against his bare skin and danced in his violet eyes.  Sometimes Sorey got caught up in wonder just looking at him.

“You’re such a sap,” Mikleo deadpanned, and shoved him lightly.  “Cut that out or I’ll dump you in the tub, half clothed and all.”

“Ah, fine, fine.”  He finished undressing, and let Mikleo remove his earrings while he took of Mikleo’s circlet and set it aside before of them climbed into the bath

The tub was, as advertised, not perfect for two people, but it worked so long as they didn’t try to stretch out fully.  Sorey made a happy noise in the back of his throat as he felt the heat work all the way to his bones.  Across from him, Mikleo looked just as content; understandably, the seraph had always loved being submerged in water.  However, Sorey could only relax for a few moments before the unpleasant cloud of dirt floating off of his skin even without the assistance of soap reminded him of their true purpose here.  He made a face.

“Well, I’m impressed,” Mikleo mentioned, a laugh in his tone.  “This is starting to look more like mud than water.”

Sorey huffed, but turned to reach for the soap on the floor next to the tub.  “Just help me wash my back.”

“I always do.”  But before he did, Mikleo used an arte to pull all of the dirt, and soap from where Sorey had started washing his front, into an isolated bubble of water.  This, he let plop into an empty bucket left over from the process of filling the tub.  Sorey murmured a quick thanks; ever since Mikleo had learned that trick he had come to dislike sitting in dirty bath water.  This process was repeated a number of times as layers upon layers of dirt came off of his skin and hair.  Although Mikleo was not nearly as filthy, Sorey insisted on helping him wash as well, if partially for the selfish reason of getting to card his fingers through the seraph’s soft hair and listen to the small, contented sounds he made as he did.

After they were both clean, they shifted to opposite sides of the tub, to just sit and relax off the week of travel for a while.  Sorey sunk back against the side, and rubbed absently at his right forearm.  It had been bothering him on and off for a few days.  He should have known that Mikleo would notice right away.

“What happened there?”

“Oh, I just strained it a bit one of the times I armatized with Edna.  I’m still not used to fighting with both hands I suppose.  It’s no big deal.”

Mikleo tsk-ed.  “Still, why didn’t you tell me?”  He reached forward and Sorey offered up his arm.  As soon as Mikleo knew about an injury, he was going to heal it.  That was entirely why Sorey hadn’t said anything.

“I didn’t want you to worry.  Or waste your strength on something that would be fine in a day or two.”

His statement was met with a scowl.  “It’s not a waste.  And it would be a problem if you fight with something minor like this and then make it worse.  It would be more of a bother then.”  His tone of voice was too soft to put strength behind the scold, but Sorey nodded anyway.  Satisfied, Mikleo held Sorey’s arm under the water and let the cool blue light of his healing rise between his fingers.  It was another useful trick they had learned a while ago, that Mikleo’s element conducted his healing artes without expending extra effort.  Tiny wisps of blue rose from the backs of his hands and drifted through the water, suffusing it with a softer light.  As Mikleo concentrated on knitting muscle back into its proper place, any small scrapes and bruises Sorey had collected disappeared, and the tightness in his back and limbs drifted away.  He hummed contentedly, feeling more restored than any night of sleep could ever give him. 

Once Mikleo released his grip, he drooped, boneless, against the edge of the tub.  This earned him a light chuckle, and he gave a lazy smile in return.

Although Sorey’s body was completely relaxed at this point, his mind was not.  The conversation with their friends earlier was still nudging at the edge of his mind.  The fact that he didn’t fully understand what they were going on about bothered him.  And he had never gotten a proper answer out of Mikleo.  “You know, I get that everyone was teasing us, but I still don’t see _why_ they reacted that way,” he murmured.

Mikleo sighed and leaned back as well, extending a foot to poke at Sorey’s side as he did.  Sorey pushed it away absently and waited for his answer.  “Well, I suppose it’s because some cultures see two people bathing alone together as rather intimate.  I know in Elysia it was never a big deal, but in places like Rolance and Hyland, it is.  And those are the human cultures everyone else has the most exposure to.”

“Oh, is that all?”  Sorey laughed.  “Well, I suppose it is sometimes.  On that note, come here.  I want to rub your back.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Mikleo huffed, but he was already carefully moving himself to the other side of the side of the tub, making sure he didn’t splash water over the sides.  He settled between Sorey’s legs and leaned back into his waiting hands.

“I like to though.  I don’t have any artes to help with your tension, but I want to make you feel the way I do.”  He pressed the heels of his palms against where Mikleo’s neck met his shoulders and ran them down either side of his spine, enjoying the way he could feel the seraph’s soft exhale at his touch.  He smiled, and couldn’t resist leaning forward to press a light kiss at the nape of his neck.  For a while, he was silent, concentrating on rubbing his fingers along Mikleo’s shoulder blades and working at the knots he found there.  Then he mused, “Why the idea of intimacy was so shocking is beyond me.”

“I’m not sure they knew.”

Sorey’s hands stilled.  “Wait, really?”

Mikleo twisted his upper body so he could see his expression, which was puzzled.  He sighed, “Well, I know Lailah had her suspicions since you already knew my true name,” his face colored as he remembered what had followed the original confession, “but none of the others were around for that, and she never asked.  So, yeah, I think it was a surprise for them.”

“But we touch all the time, and I get so scared if something happens to you in a fight, and I know I sometimes stare at you like I’m ridiculously lovesick.  I thought it was pretty obvious.”

“You are ridiculously lovesick,” Mikleo pointed out, and then leaned against Sorey’s chest since he wasn’t rubbing his back anymore.

“I never denied it.  And I know you are too, which is still so amazing, but the way,” he said, and then nuzzled his check against Mikleo’s wet hair, while he wound his hands around his stomach.

“You’re also a hopeless romantic.  Anyway, it’s not like we run around kissing in public, or talk about it very often.  And most people don’t mention doing something intimate quite that casually.”

“Does it bother you?”  Sorey asked, genuine concern in his voice.

Mikleo thought for a moment.  “It’s a little embarrassing, but I guess I don’t really mind.  Although I am not looking forward to Edna’s teasing.  She’s never going to let up now, you know.”

“I figured that boat had already sailed after this.”

“Probably.”

Their conversation trailed off into comfortable silence.  Sorey could feel his eyes starting to slip shut.  Between the warmth and Mikleo’s familiar weight against him, he could feel the exhaustion of the past week catching up with him hard.  It seemed Mikleo had noticed as well, because a moment later, the weight was gone.  It was replaced by a pair of violet eyes looking at him with fondness, and a hand pushing his wet bangs back from his forehead.  “Come on, you should get out before you fall asleep in here.  You’ll wind up as one big Shepherd prune if you do.”

“What, like this?”  Sorey smiled, cutting through enough of his exhaustion to reach out his puckered fingers and wiggle them across Mikleo’s ribs.

“Ah, Sorey, stop!”  Mikleo shrieked through a laugh, and fell back out of his reach, sloshing a large quantity of water out across the floor in the process.  “Look what you made me do.”

“Sorry.”  He was not sorry at all.

Mikleo sighed and collected it back into the tub.  “Come on, out!”

This time, Sorey complied.  He toweled off before changing into a clean set of sleep clothes from their bags.  Then, he let himself drop onto the bed; it was enough force that he bounced just slightly up from the mattress.  “Will you sleep tonight?”

“Hmm,” Mikleo pretended to think about it just long enough for Sorey to start to pout.  “Yes, I think I can do that.”  He put out the candles before climbing into the bed, and immediately rolling onto his side.  Sorey shifted forward until he could wrap himself around Mikleo’s smaller form.  His arm came up and around his waist and their feet twisted together, like so many times before.  “Goodnight, Sorey.”

“Goodnight, Mikleo,” Sorey breathed quietly into Mikleo’s soft hair, before letting his eyes slip closed. 

* * *

The next morning, the opportunity was not missed to point out that Sorey, who was capable of eating enough for a small army and still have room for dessert, had missed dinner.  Sorey just laughed and rubbed the back of his neck, already resigned to the new levels of teasing to come.  Mikleo responded by turning his nose up to their companions in an attempt to distract from the light blush dusting his cheeks.  But when Sorey took his hand under the table and gave it a reassuring squeeze, he squeezed back.

**Author's Note:**

> I know that most of the seraphim in the company wouldn’t have interacted with humans all that much, and probably have a number of their own customs, but I imagine that seraph culture varies regionally the same way human culture does, especially since some seraphim with more stationary vessels don’t seem to be able to travel much. And there’s likely been some influence both ways.


End file.
